Summary of the Interview Excerpt:
This excerpt features an interview with a scholar discussing her work on gender, politics, care, and inequality. Here’s a breakdown of the key themes and points:
* Focus on Inequality & Institutions: The scholar’s research consistently centers on the political economy of inequality and the role of institutions in either perpetuating or mitigating it. She draws from a Marxist tradition understanding the state’s entanglement with capital.
* Representation & Justice: She argues that increased female representation in politics isn’t just about better policy outcomes, but fundamentally about justice.She acknowledges policy impact is critically important, but prioritizes the right to equal participation.
* Performing Exclusion in Politics: Her book, Performing Representation, explores how gendered institutional cultures are reproduced through subtle, often informal, performances – embodied acts, language, temporal rhythms (like long parliamentary sessions impacting care responsibilities), and social hierarchies. these performances actively exclude women.
* Interdisciplinary Approach: She emphasizes the value of working across disciplines (anthropology, sociology, theater studies) and challenging disciplinary boundaries (“think otherwise”). This allows for fresh perspectives, broader intellectual engagement, and more innovative research. She cites Audrey Lorde’s idea that “canons” are disciplinary and encourages breaking free from them.
* challenges in Higher Education: She acknowledges the difficult landscape of contemporary higher education, characterized by neoliberalism, austerity, and conservatism, and the need for solidarity amongst colleagues.
* Advice to Young Scholars: Her advice isn’t prescriptive, but rather a sharing of what has worked for her: solidarity, critical engagement with colleagues, constant curiosity, interdisciplinary work, and a willingness to “think otherwise.”
Connections between Care & Representation:
The scholar connects her work on care (highlighted by the study on care during the pandemic) to her research on representation by pointing out how institutional structures frequently enough fail to accommodate the realities of care responsibilities.the exmaple of long parliamentary sessions demonstrates how the very rhythms of political life can be exclusionary to those with caregiving duties, disproportionately impacting women. This reinforces the need for inclusive institutions that recognise and value care work.
In essence, the scholar advocates for a critical and expansive approach to studying politics, one that recognizes the performative aspects of power, the importance of justice alongside policy, and the necessity of challenging established norms and disciplinary boundaries.